ABSTRACT
This chapter examines some of the new information and looks at some of its implications for digital broadcast transmission systems. Many of the characteristics of a digital transmission system derive from the carrier-to-noise (C/N) ratio required at the receiver input in order to recover the signal after transmission. The threshold C/N ratios of the proposed systems were among the data released from the advanced television test center (ATTC) tests. From the threshold C/N, it is possible to work backwards toward the transmitter to determine what effective radiated power (ERP) is required to reach the receiver. The FCC has indicated that advanced television (ATV) transmissions will take place in the same spectrum allocated to television broadcasting. This includes both the VHF and UHF bands. Advanced Television has been under discussion, there have been frequent mention, many claims, and not a little puffery related to the idea of low power operation.
